Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Sudan: Humanitarian Aid

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in need in Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK has announced £36 million in humanitarian aid this year to assist people in urgent need in Sudan. Securing improved humanitarian access into and across Sudan remains a top UK priority. Lack of security remains the biggest constraint for international agencies and NGOs delivering life-saving assistance. We continue to raise humanitarian access, including bureaucratic and administrative impediments, with the warring parties, our international partners and in international fora such as the UN. The UK is working with the UN, other donors and humanitarian agencies to coordinate the effective delivery of aid, and continues to put pressure on both parties to the conflict to abide by their commitments under International Humanitarian Law and to allow lifesaving humanitarian aid to reach the Sudanese people.

Gaza: Armed Conflict

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the letter by the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians and UK-based civil society groups on the hostilities in Gaza, published on 8 December 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Government takes its defence export responsibilities extremely seriously and operates some of the most robust export controls in the world. All applications for export licences are assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. We can and do respond quickly and flexibly to changing international circumstances. All licences are kept under careful and continual review as standard and we are able to suspend, refuse or revoke licences as circumstances required. The UK Government continues to monitor closely the situation in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

Jagtar Singh Johal

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the (a) detention of Jagtar Singh Johal, (b) length of his detention without charge and (c) allegations of his torture.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with representatives of international human rights organisations on (a) the case of Jagtar Singh Johal and (b) similar situations involving British nationals detained overseas.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK Government has raised our concerns about Mr Johal's case consistently with the Government of India, including his allegations of torture and mistreatment, and his right to a fair trial. The UK Government regularly raises Mr Johal's case with Indian counterparts and will continue to do so. We remain committed to seeing Mr Johal's case resolved as soon as possible. Our approach in Mr Johal's case is informed by all available information, including information made available by international human rights organisations. We take all allegations of human rights violations relating to British nationals detained overseas very seriously and we raise concerns with local authorities where appropriate. Our response is tailored to the circumstances of each case, prioritising the best interests and wishes of the affected individual. With the consent of the person affected, the FCDO is willing to discuss cases with relevant third parties, including international human rights organisations.

Gaza: Hospitals

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the statement by ActionAid entitled ActionAid partner Al-Awda hospital hit by bombing, killing three doctors, published on 21 November 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is clear that healthcare, emergency services personnel and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and medical facilities, must be protected in conflict in accordance with international humanitarian law. Israel needs to abide by International Humanitarian Law. Too many civilians have been killed and the scale of suffering is far too high. The Israeli government must ensure its campaign targets Hamas leaders and operatives. Both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have met a range of senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Herzog, to discuss Israel's approach to the campaign in Gaza.

Israel: Hamas

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he plans to take to support international investigations into reports of gender-based violence perpetrated by Hamas during the attack on Israel of 7 October 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The reports of gender-based violence, including sexual violence, perpetrated by Hamas against Israeli women and girls and other civilians are horrifying. We unequivocally condemn gender-based violence in Israel and wherever it occurs in the world. Conflict-related sexual violence is an abuse of human rights and when perpetrated in the context of an armed conflict, can constitute a violation of international humanitarian law such as a war crime. We are regularly engaging with partners, including the UN, on this issue and call for these reports to be fully investigated to ensure justice for victims.The UK is a global leader in preventing and responding to gender-based violence. Phase 1 of our pioneering What Works to Prevent Violence programme resulted in reductions in violence of around 50%, proving that violence is preventable. The UK is continuing our work to end gender-based violence in phase 2 of the What Works programme, in which we are investing £67.5 million. In addition, in November 2023, the UK announced £33 million of further funding to support our efforts in tackling gender-based violence. Our Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) strategy, launched in 2022, sets out the work we are leading globally to prevent Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and strengthen justice for all survivors.The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon gave a statement on 15 December regarding the reports of sexual violence by Hamas, calling for them to be fully investigated to ensure justice for survivors and victims.

Gaza: British Nationals Abroad

Tahir Ali: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many UK nationals unable to leave Gaza his Department has contacted.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The safety and security of all British nationals remains our utmost priority and we are doing everything we can to support all British nationals, including dual nationals in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. We are still working to help a number of British Nationals get out of Gaza, but we cannot disclose numbers at this time. We can confirm that more than 270 people registered with us, including British Nationals and their dependants, have left Gaza, with onward support to Cairo. We are working with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to ensure any remaining British nationals that want to leave are cleared and able to cross the Rafah Border.

Gaza: Israel

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has held discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the reported air strike on two Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulances in Gaza on 5 December 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is aware of reports of attacks against healthcare facilities and infrastructure. Healthcare workers, emergency services personnel, civilian buildings including hospitals and medical facilities not used for military purposes must not be targeted. We support Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas, but Israel must ensure its campaign protects civilians in Gaza, complies with International Humanitarian Law and targets Hamas fighters and military objectives only. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary continue to press these in engagements with Israeli counterparts.

Palestinians: Children

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had discussions with his Israeli counterpart on the reported shooting of two Palestinian children in Jenin on 29 November 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon has publicly expressed that he was appalled by news of this particular incident in the West Bank and called for a full investigation; we are clear that the targeting, and on occasions killing, of Palestinian civilians, especially children, is completely unacceptable. As both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have emphasised to Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is critical that Israel abides by its obligations under international law and acts to reduce tensions in the West Bank to stop the conflict spreading. As the Foreign Secretary announced on 14 December, the UK is now banning those responsible for settler violence from entering the UK.

Religious Freedom

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to promote freedom of religion and belief in other countries.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We continue to ensure that freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is central to our human rights and wider work. Our International Development White Paper published in November includes a commitment to prioritise FoRB in our bilateral and multilateral work.We work with UN, G7, and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB. In June this year, the UN Security Council adopted, unanimously, a UK-United Arab Emirates (UAE) co-penned resolution on Tolerance and International Peace and Security, which contained language on FoRB. Bilaterally, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations, whether publicly or in private.This year, the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP served a second consecutive year as Chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, a network of 42 countries committed to the promotion and protection of FoRB.

British Nationals Abroad: Gaza

Afzal Khan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what guidance his Department issues to British nationals that plan to volunteer to assist the Israeli Defence Forces with the conflict in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: FCDO travel advice provides British nationals with information on the risks of travelling or living abroad. The FCDO provides advice to British nationals on the risks of travelling to Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories.This guidance can be found on Gov.uk.The UK recognises the right of British nationals with additional nationalities to serve in the legitimately recognised armed forces of the country of their other nationalities. The Israel Defence Force is a recognised armed force and British nationals are both able to volunteer into the Israel Defence Force and eligible for national service. For Israel, one does not have to be Israeli to serve in the Israel Defence Force.

Department for Education

Offences against Children: Religion

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when a Minister in her Department last met representatives of the national working group on child abuse linked to faith.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding the national working group on child abuse linked to faith has received from her Department in each year since 2011.

David Johnston: My hon. Friend, the former Minister for Children and Families, Vicky Ford, met with senior representatives of the national working group on child abuse linked to faith in February 2021. The department has not provided any funding to the national working group.​Faith-based abuse, or 'child abuse linked to faith or belief' relates to situations in which a child is abused (physically, emotionally, sexually or by neglect) because of a belief that the child is possessed by evil spirits. Any form of child abuse is abhorrent and cannot be justified. The government is determined to protect children from this abuse, as with any other form of abuse. Where there are concerns that any child is at risk of, or has suffered significant harm, these should be reported to the police or to the local authority children’s social care who should take action. This is outlined in the ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance.The government’s ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ strategy, published on 2 February 2023, and backed by £200 million investment, set out plans to reform children’s social care, including a commitment to deliver a decisive, multi-agency child protection system for all children.

Special Educational Needs: Home Education

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are being home schooled due to a lack of SEND provision in (a) Wansbeck constituency, (b) Northumberland and (c) England as of 14 December 2023.

David Johnston: The department publishes data on the number of children in the ‘Elective home education’ (EHE) publication, which is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/elective-home-education. This includes data at a local authority, regional and national level. Data is collected from local authorities and is not available for parliamentary constituencies.Data on the primary reason for EHE is collected and is available for Northumberland local authority and England at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/ff8aac35-11d4-4d11-af9c-08dbfa4e7cea.Lack of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities provision is not one of the specific reasons collected.

Children: Social Services

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans to provide enhanced (a) financial and (b) other support to local authorities in the South East where children's services require improvement.

David Johnston: In the South East, there are currently no local authorities judged inadequate by Ofsted, however, the department offers a universal support package for all local authorities, including access to a dedicated departmental Regional Improvement and Support Lead, funding for Regional Improvement and Innovation Alliances, and department-funded Local Government Association leadership support.The department provides targeted support for those local authorities that need it most, including expert improvement advisers, the sector-led improvement programme of local authority to local authority peer support, and improvement grant funding for invest-to-save initiatives.

Special Educational Needs: Transport

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the need for health services to support local authorities that provide transport to school for children with complex health needs.

David Johnston: The department’s school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. When a local authority makes travel arrangements for a child with medical needs, they should consider whether and how those needs might affect them during their journey to and from school and, where necessary, put in place proportionate arrangements to manage those needs.Local authority school travel teams may need to work with local partners to make suitable travel arrangements for children with medical needs, and should be able to expect the support of their local authority’s special educational needs team, local health partners, and the schools to which they arrange travel.

Children: Asylum

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support the mental health of children from (a) families seeking asylum and (b) refugee families in educational settings.

David Johnston: The government wants all children, regardless of their background or the challenges they face, to grow up happy, healthy and safe.While education settings are not specialist mental health support providers, schools and colleges have an important role to play in identifying and responding to mental health needs, whether by providing targeted pastoral support or ensuring referrals are made to external specialist support. The department has put in place a wide range of training and guidance to help education staff do so effectively.The department’s mental health and behaviour guidance supports education staff to identify children in need of extra mental health support. This includes information on how adverse childhood experiences, including loss or separation and traumatic incidents, can affect children’s mental health, and on working with external agencies to put in place effective support. The guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2.The department is offering every state school and college in England funding to train a senior mental health lead, who can oversee an effective whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing. This approach should include robust processes for identifying pupils or groups of pupils in need of further support, which may include children from refugee or asylum-seeking families.To ensure more children and young people have access to early intervention support, the department is continuing to roll out mental health support teams to schools and colleges in England. These teams currently cover over 35% of pupils in schools and learners in further education and the department is extending coverage to at least 50% by April 2025.Further information on these programmes and other sources of support to help schools and colleges promote and support mental health can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mental-health-and-wellbeing-support-in-schools-and-colleges.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Organic Farming

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the proportion of farming land that will be organic by the end of 2024.

Mark Spencer: The Government supports the development of organic farming through both Countryside Stewardship and the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). These schemes reward farmers for farming practices that help produce food sustainably and protect the environment. Farmers are able to choose from a range of standards which are suitable for their farms. We continue to work with organic farmers to understand how their farming practices might match the standards, including at higher levels of ambition.

Cats: Theft

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help reduce the number of cat abductions.

Mark Spencer: We understand the devastating impact that the theft of a pet can have. We have already introduced legislation to extend compulsory microchipping to cats in England from 10 June 2024. The new legislation is intended to increase the likelihood that lost or stolen pet cats can be reunited with their keeper. The Government launched a Pet Theft Taskforce in May 2021 in response to concerns about a perceived increase in pet theft during covid restrictions. The Taskforce published its findings and recommendations in September of that year, including the creation of a specific offence. We are making improvements to the cat and dog microchipping regime in England in line with the taskforce’s recommendations. The Honourable Member for Southend-West introduced a Pet Abduction Bill on 6 December and I welcome her interest in improving animal welfare. In accordance with parliamentary convention, the Government will set out its formal position on this Bill when it receives its Second Reading.

Members: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he plans to reply to the letters of 7 September and13 October 2023 from the hon. member for Weston-super-Mare on behalf of a constituent about the Dangerous Dogs Act 2014 and XL Bullies.

Mark Spencer: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 15 December 2023. I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of allowing people that are not currently eligible for covid-19 booster vaccines to (a) purchase them at an affordable price and (b) receive them free of charge if they are eligible for free prescriptions on levels of people returning to work.

Maria Caulfield: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a body of independent experts, advises the Government on who should be offered vaccination through the national programme for COVID-19. Vaccination for COVID-19 through the National Health Service is free for those eligible and there are no plans to introduce charges.Current COVID-19 vaccines offer good protection against serious outcomes but only short-lived protection from mild symptomatic disease. The aim therefore is to offer vaccination to those the JCVI advises are at higher risk of hospitalisation and death. This risk is strongly linked to older age and some specified clinical conditions.No recent general assessment has been carried out on the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on absences from work. However, a cost effectiveness assessment has been carried for the groups recommended by the JCVI for autumn 2023 vaccination which includes front line healthcare workers. The analysis for this group explored the potential impact on staff absences due to COVID-19. The available data was insufficient to allow formal conclusions but what data was available suggested that, due to the limited ability of current vaccines to prevent mild illness, vaccination would have only a very modest impact on staff absences. The analysis is published at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/650ade0f52e73c001254dc08/covid-19-autumn-2023-impact-assessment.pdf On the advice of the JCVI, NHS eligibility is focussed on those at higher risk of serious outcomes. However, all vaccines that have been licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for use in the United Kingdom may be prescribed by physicians privately as well as through the NHS. Currently COVID-19 vaccines are not available privately but as is the case for many other vaccines, manufacturers and providers are able to set up a private market alongside the NHS offer when they consider this viable and appropriate. The Government is supportive of the emergence of a private market for COVID-19 vaccines and is engaging with relevant parties on this.

Mental Health Services: Standards

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS is on track to meet the target for NHS Talking Therapies of 1.9 million people in England accessing treatment by the end of 2023/24.

Maria Caulfield: The additional investment for NHS Talking Therapies from the Autumn Statement is focused on helping people recover from anxiety and depression. It will do this through service expansion over five years, enabling more people to have a course of treatment, representing an additional 384,000 people over five years, and supporting services to be offer patients a larger number of sessions which will improve people's chance of fully recovering.

Mental Health Services: Finance

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the additional £1 billion per year for community mental health services has been spent; and if she will make an assessment of the impact of that funding on care pathways for people living with bipolar disorder.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Long Term Plan set out a minimum £2.3 billion real terms growth per year for expanding and transforming mental health services in England by 2023/24. This includes £1 billion for community mental health services for people with serious mental illness. However, the amount and proportion of this funding which has been distributed is not separately identifiable from the overall amount spent on mental health services. Neither is the impact of that funding on care pathways for people living with bipolar disorder separately identifiable. The funding aims to increase access to high quality care and transform care pathways for people with severe mental illness, including bipolar disorder, through: greater integration of primary and community services to provide care in the community driven by the needs of individuals, rather than based solely on diagnoses; physical health checks; and Individual Placement and Support schemes and Early Intervention in Psychosis services.